The present invention relates to compositions and a method for evaluating a person's sensitive reaction to the metallic substances of mercury and nickel. All people exhibit a reaction to substantial quantities of these metals, but some persons exhibit unusual sensitivity to small quantities of the metals. Indeed, these hypersensitive persons can exhibit extreme reactions to quantities of these metals that most persons apparently tolerate. Since these metals have been and continue to be used in the dental industry, the detection of those hypersensitive persons who are likely to have a sensitive reaction to the metals becomes important.
In the past, the diagnosis of some medical trauma included a measurement of mercury or nickel in the urine of the patient or in the blood of the patient. The tests were also used for evaluating a person's reactivity to these metals. Both of these tests, however, while providing valuable data, were not necessarily totally reliable. In the case of a blood test, only acute presence of the metal will be apparent. A urine test shows only that the body eliminates the metals; thus, a low mercury or nickel content in the urine may result from bodily retention of the metal rather than elimination of it. That is, a patient may retain a high amount of one of these metals and react in deleterious manner to the mercury or nickel even though it is not showing up in either his blood or urine. This is especially critical to the hypersensitive patient who may demonstrate acute reactions to even small quantities of these materials which quantities do not normally become apparent through either of these tests. In addition, neither of these tests help evaluate the potential dangers to the hypersensitive person who is exposed to low level, but long term doses of these materials such as occur when amalgams of mercury and nickel are used as dental fillings.
Further, some efforts have been directed, in the past, to testing reactions to mercury and nickel, utilizing mercury chloride and nickel sulfate mixed with petroleum jellies and applied to the skin of an individual. These techniques have not proved successful since the petroleum jellies have interferred with the absorption of the low level dosage of the toxic substance into the skin of the patient.
Accordingly, a need exists for a simple and convenient manner for testing an individual's sensitive reaction to metals, such as mercury and nickel. There is a further need for a composition and method that will allow medical personnel to distinquish the normally sensitive individual from the hypersensitive individual prior to that individual's exposure to a chronic, low level dosage of these metals.